It’s a small, first step for injured Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones, but it’s a good one to show he’s trending in the right direction.
Jones has been sidelined for the past six weeks due to a UCL sprain in his right elbow, but Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk issued a positive update Wednesday on the 23-year-old right-hander.
Tomczyk told reporters that Jones has been cleared to throw and has already done so twice up to 45 feet.
“Very encouraging signs for Jared,” Tomczyk said, per DK Pittsburgh Sports’ José Negron. “Start him at 45 (feet), start him at 60 and then he goes to 90, 120 with intent, with good form. It’s going to be a collaborative effort, notably with Jared, with our pitching department and our performance team. (We want him to) continue to be pain free, continue to be fluid, but he missed six weeks, so he’s going to need some time to build up.”
The plan for Jones is to throw off a slope in three to four weeks, according to Tomczyk. And if all continues to go well for Jones, he could rejoin the Pirates in 12 weeks, which would be around the end of July.
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But Tomczyk didn’t rule out Jones potentially returning earlier than that.
“We’re always open to accelerating that, if and when it’s safe and how it’s safe, and what’s best for Jared,” Tomczyk said.
Jones displayed his terrific talent in the big leagues last season as rookie. He went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 1.192 WHIP to go along with 132 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings. And the Pirates certainly can’t wait to see him back in the rotation again.
Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images